The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter. This is an absolutely beautiful and funny book about walking in Paris. I loved it so much, that I am planning a couple of his walks on my own, based on the book during my 4 days in the city. It is a good read.
Thanks for the recommendation! I just put this in my Goodreads queue.
Me too.
Me three!
Thanks! Another book you all might love is "Americans in Paris: A Literary Anthology," by Adam Gopnik. It's a collection of essays from famous Americans (Mark Twain, Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Thomas Paine, James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac and so on) who lived in Paris.
Without a doubt -- you need to read Hemmingway's "A Moveable Feast." His "The Sun Also Rises" is wonderful background as well.
I just started reading "Paris to the Past: Traveling Through French History by Train" by Ina Caro. It weaves history into the present day and it's so interesting that I can't put it down!
If you like mysteries, I would also recommend the Cara Black series. Each one is set in a specific Paris neighborhood and has a map. If you have a kindle, there is a free intro book-called something like Aimee Leduc's Paris. It gives you a summary of each book and of the main characters.